We often wonder when was the first time a now well-known
phenomenon first occurred or was recorded. In the instance of
spiritual possession, at least in the United States, we may have
an answer in the case known as “The Watseka Wonder.” Indeed, if
such a condition exists, it’s likely people have been claiming or
appearing to be possessed by a supernatural force since human
beings existed. However, many cite the Watseka story as the first
well-documented example of a person appearing to have been taken
over by a deceased human spirit. This historical incident also
benefits from the thorough documentation from a credible source.
At the time, a physician and Spiritist, Dr. E. Winchester
Stevens, treated his patient experiencing the possession and
wrote about the bizarre events soon after they occurred in a book
he titled, The Watseka Wonder. Stevens’ report details the story
of Mary Lurancy Vennum, who began to suffer from cataleptic-like
seizures at the age between thirteen and fourteen years old. On
July 11, 1877, the first attack happened where Lurancy passed out
on the floor and remained unconscious for five hours. The “fit,”
as it was called back then, happened the next day as well, except
that this time while in something of a trance, she spoke of being
in heaven and in the company of various spirits. She described
some of these spirits as angels and claimed to talk to a departed
sister and a brother who died when Lurancy was just 3. Her
episodes occurred in greater frequency by January of the
following year, some lasting from an hour to eight hours and as
many as twelve times per day. Her religiously orthodox parents
and the numerous doctors that examined her feared she had become
insane, and the only option left was to have her committed to an
asylum. However, a respected, casual acquaintance of the Vennum
family, Asa B. Roff, became intrigued by Lurancy’s condition and
instead convinced her parents to let Dr. E. W. Stevens treat the
girl using Spiritist methods. To everyone’s astonishment, Lurancy
then started to behave like she was inhabited by the soul of
Roff’s daughter Mary. Mary Roff had passed away more than a
decade before Lurancy was born. Join us tonight for Part 1 of our
series, where we cover the circumstances of perhaps America’s
first acknowledged case of “spirit infestation,” known as “The
Watseka Wonder.”
Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.
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